Thank you for beta'ing, A Star In My Universe! Congratulations on being reviewer 100! It's my birthday today, yay!

Also special birthday shoutout to Tiff (thecharmedwerewolf)!

Note: Arturo's lines are in English; since he's a drug dealer and has English speaking friends, he must know English!

Warning: Abuse, racist and sexist slurs.

"Thank you so much, Marisol," Carol says while handing Flaca a hundred dollars. "You're a great worker, you got this place spick and span...I have never seen the playroom and our four bedrooms look so neat!"

"Oh, you don't need to pay me..."

"Nonsense. I haven't even given you an extra ten for watching Cal while I took Celeste to her doctor's appointment and making sure he didn't blow up his room." Carol pulls out a bill from her purse and presses it into Flaca's palm. "Here."

"Thanks."

It makes Flaca feel even more awkward. This is her late friend's mother. It's bad enough that she volunteered to be a maid for the Chapmans and they actually took her up on it. She'd only done this to be nice and because she wanted to spend a little time in Piper's room, read her diaries, and try to understand her. Unfortunately, she couldn't find them fast enough and the mansion's front door had opened. If anyone were to know, they'd think differently of her. At least this would help the family. It's not that working is a problem, it's this particular job of working for rich white people who degrade minorities that her mom would disapprove of, and Flaca herself knows she can do better than being a cleaning girl. Although Carol and Celeste are nice most of the time, they sometimes act like they're better than anyone who isn't them and it's clear that Piper had gotten her bad traits from them. Bill is even worse. He'd always say that Piper shouldn't be friends with anyone poor because she isn't at all like them.

"I'll give you a ride home since those buses are filthy."

"I don't really mind-"

"You're a friend of my daughter," Carol says stiffly. "This isn't charity."

Flaca rolls her eyes internally and follows Carol out the door to her Mercedes-Benz. "Oh...you got a new car. Sorry, I haven't...been here in a while."

"What do you think?"

"It's lovely."

Before Flaca touches the handle of the passenger door, Carol yells, "Wait!" The Latina backs away from the vehicle. "Did you wash your hands? I have to keep this neat."

"Yeah, I don't like stickiness either."

"Good."

Flaca takes her hair out of its bun as they coast along the highway. The suburbs slowly turn into an area full of apartments that are close together. Carol stops at the curb outside Flaca's apartment. "Thanks, again."

"You're very welcome, dear." Flaca gets out of the car and starts to close the door. "Hurry, I don't want any messy air in here. Ugh..."

"Sorry, Miss Two-Faced," Flaca grumbles under her breath. She jogs up her small driveway and uses her own set of house keys to open the Gonzales' front door. "¡Mamá, estoy en casa!" she hollers while closing the door behind her.

Mom, I'm home!

"¿Dónde has estado, mija? ¡Es de noche!" Theresa exclaims as Flaca comes into their living room.

Where have you been, my girl? It's after dark!

"Lo sé, lo siento, estaba en casa de Maritza, y mi teléfono murió." she lies.

I know, I'm sorry, I was at Maritza's and my phone died.

Since Flaca doesn't have an ATM, she decides to pay Ian her one-hundred-and-ten dollars in cash and have him give it back to her in tens so she can slip them into her mom's purse, one week at a time.


"I popped two pigs and defended my family. Now, are you seriously tellin' me that you got a new man?" Cesar demands once Aleida finishes her tale of how her date with Leon was.

"Yeah, just like you were fuckin' your other woman behind my back! At least I'm being honest about Leon! You know, he texts and calls me whenever he can, and he visited me at my job today just to say hi and kiss."

"You got another deal goin' on?"

"Not with drugs, I work at Daya's high school as like, a server and pan scrubber," Aleida explains.

"That sounds boring!"

"It is, but Gloria says I can't pack heroin no more because it's illegal and not good for the kids, so I gotta do somethin' normal, in her words. So, anyway, you gotta dial my number and talk to me! I would do that if our situations were reversed!"

"Sure...and I guess you're cool with our relationship bein' open?"

"Yeah, if you are!"

"Okay, then! Yo, Daya, how you doin'?" Cesar asks.

"Just fine," Daya responds bitterly.


And she takes another step
Slowly she opens the door
Check that he is sleeping
Pick up all the broken glass
And furniture on the floor
Been up half the night screaming
Now it's time to get away
Pack up the kids in the car
Another bruise to try and hide
Another alibi to write
Another lonely highway
In the black of night

The radio starts playing Two Beds and a Coffee Machine by Savage Garden. It hits so close to home and even though Gloria should switch the station, she doesn't want to. "Don't, it's okay," she murmurs when Aleida reaches for the knob.

Another ditch in the road
You keep moving
Another stop sign
You keep moving on
And the years go by so fast
Wonder how I ever made it through

"Um, when we visited Cesar, we saw...him," Aleida lets Gloria know as they drive to the Narcotics Anonymous meeting that Gloria had insisted Aleida sign up for.

"Yeah, I made a good choice in not going."

And there are children to think of
Baby's asleep in the back seat
Wonder how they'll ever make it
Through this living nightmare
But the mind is an amazing thing
Full of candy dreams and new toys
And another cheap hotel
Two beds and a coffee machine
But there are groceries to buy
And she knows she'll have to go home

"We threatened him," Daya admits.

"Why would you do that?" Gloria shrieks, screeching to a stop. "Now, he's gonna retaliate! Oh my god...that was a fuckin' mistake!"

Another ditch in the road
You keep moving
Another stop sign
You keep moving on
And the years go by so fast
Wonder how I ever made it through

"Hey, chill! We were protecting you!" Aleida protests.

"I'm grateful, but I'm allowed to panic...don't ever talk to him again, please, once was more than enough!"

Another bruise to try and hide
You keep moving
Another stop sign
You keep moving on
And the years go by so fast
Silent fortress built to last
Wonder how I ever made it

"I promise we won't," Daya tells Gloria.

Even through Daya's reassurance, Gloria is haunted by nightmarish flashbacks of her ex. She sends the children, including Daya, into the meeting with Aleida as she breathes through her panic attack in her car.

She's making his favorite, liver with horseradish, and it stinks to high heaven.

"Mama, can we help?" Benny asks. Julio tugs on Gloria's hand to get her attention. She looks down at their small faces and smiles.

"You can set the table, darlings, set out two plates and I'll set out the silverware."

"Yay!" they shout, jumping up and down. Gloria just has to laugh. Her sons pull her out of her misery all the time.

"What are we having?" Benny asks.

"Papa wanted liver and horseradish, so I'm making that."

"Yuck!" Julio makes a face.

"Why can't we have pasketti?" Benny complains.

"Papa will get mad if I don't make him what he wants. I'll make you guys spaghetti for lunch tomorrow. I promise." She ruffles their hair.

"Why does Papa yell sometimes? I don't like it," Benny says.

"He works very hard and he gets frustrated," Gloria lies.

"Can you tell him to stop and calm down?" Benny asks.

"I can try," she fibs again. Gloria will never tell him what to do anymore. Last time she had, she was in the hospital for broken ribs where he'd kicked her.

She quickly runs to set the meal out on the plates. The boys scramble to get out of their mother's way. They know she's in a big rush.

She tries not to gag as she puts the finishing touches on the food. She hears a car door slam from outside and she stands up straight like he always tells her to do.

She goes to get the door and lets five men, including her boyfriend, stagger in the house. They wolf-whistle at her and she smiles to fake her disgust. She hates Arturo for forcing her to wear her sluttiest outfit in front of drunken perverts. All they stare at is her huge cleavage.

"Hola, chicos, you're right on time for dinner."

"What do you care if I even show up? What would you do to me?"

"Well, it's okay if you do or don't, but it's just…dinner's ready," she says in a small voice.

"Why do you walk funny, Papa?" Benny asks. Julio giggles. Gloria's scared he'll hit them, but of course, he doesn't. He walks towards her and she whispers, "Boys, go upstairs right now, to your rooms."

She gives them a look that says she means it and now means now.

"Why did you let him talk to me like that?" he growls, pulling her close to the front of him.

"I sent them up to their rooms. Actions speak louder than words," she says in barely a whisper.

He pushes her to the table and pulls her down by her hair. She lands on the chair with a loud thunk. He grabs the side of her face and jerks it to his lips. "Do not embarrass me tonight, Gloria," he snarls threateningly. Then, he pushes her head away.

She walks around the table, pretending to converse with the men, when all she really wants to do is hang out with her kids upstairs.

"Here's your drinks," she says breathlessly, setting down two beverages in front of the men's plates.

"Nice," one of them says, grinning and staring at her chest. She feels so exposed and vulnerable right now, and she just wants to dig a hole and crawl right into it.

"You want a drink?" the other man slurs.

"Oh, that's okay, I don't drink." She'd actually love one, but she doesn't want to be intoxicated and have them take advantage of her even more.

Those are the wrong words to say, though.

Arturo slowly gets up from the table and she stands where she is. He stalks over to her and slams his fist on her hand, almost breaking it. He grabs her by her shirt and walks her backwards very quickly into the stove. He leans towards her as she leans back as far as she can.

"Stand up straight, whore." She stands rigid while he strikes her across her chest and scratches her across her breasts. She feels some blood on them. He slides his hands up her shirt and his fingers graze her breasts. She winces when his fingertip touches the wounded area, so he stomps hard on her foot to make her look at him. She puts her other foot on top to shield it. He forces her chin up to look straight into his eyes. She tries to stop her tears, but one slips out. She quickly wipes it away. He claws at her arms and she lets out a choked sob. To make her stop, he slaps her across the face, causing her to have a split lip. She can taste the blood in her mouth. He licks her lips and forces his tongue inside her mouth. He smells of alcohol and she tries not to cough. The men are chortling at her and calling her a slut under their breaths.

"You will drink if someone tells you to, bitch, you got that?" he hisses.

"Yes," she whimpers.

He looks her up and down and notes, "Clumsy, huh?"

Gloria tries hard not to grit her teeth. She just nods and agrees with, "Yeah, that's me."

"Don't be clumsy," he growls. His fist comes in contact with her jaw. He'd broken another tooth. She collapses from the blow, and he pulls at her wrist to get her up.

"Let's try it again," he says, pushing her towards the man who had offered her a drink. She almost falls into him. Then the man touches her butt so she flinches.

"You sure got a fine lookin' girlfriend there, Arturo," he drawls drunkenly.

"She's my little plaything, but you can share her anytime you'd like, buddy," he says, a sick grin stretching across his smug face.

Gloria shivers as she realizes what he means. They could gang rape her right here, and she won't be able to tell a soul. She tells herself all the time, she's doing this for her children, she has to be strong for them.

Another man pulls her into his lap and puts his hands on her waist. He tries to make her do a lap-dance, but she barely moves. His nails dig into her side and she cries out a little in pain.

"Teach her a lesson," Arturo sniggers.

She's passed like a gift from man to man until Arturo decides it's time for them to go home and Gloria can finally eat a smidgeon of what he had. Some nights, though, she'd go to sleep hungry.

"Ay dios mío..." she whispers, opening her eyes and gasping in and out deeply. "I've escaped him...I'm in my car...that I share with Aleida...I live with my best friend and our kids now...I'm okay. I'll be fine." With shaking hands, she touches everything to make sure it's real-the steering wheel, windows, ceiling, glove compartment, floor, and gas pedal. It's not often that Gloria hates herself, but she has moments of self-loathing when she thinks about how she went off the deep end with Flaca and Maritza in school and Daya and Aleida just a while ago. She realizes that she needs to have a discussion with the other women about what to do if Arturo ever gets bailed out or escapes prison.

She'd cleaned the mess while he was out and then, she'd taken a train from Brooklyn to Queens with her boys sleeping against her, and they rode for forty-six minutes in complete silence, with that one song replaying over and over in her head.


"I'm very proud of you, solnyshko, and you too, Tricia," Red lets Nicky and Tricia know as they exit the Narcotics Anonymous building, Nicky in between the Russian woman and her little sister.

"What does that word mean, sol-neesh-ko?" Nicky tries to sound it out.

"Little sun...my papa would call me that when I was a child."

"Thanks for the compliment. So, where are we going now? Home is the last place I wanna be."

"We can go to my house, if you want."

"Sure!" Tricia says enthusiastically.

Red ends up making the girls a nice dinner-corn and leek quiche with a fried sage garnish. She has them help her, mostly teaching them how not to ruin the food. It's delicious, and they tell her so.

"Glad you love my cooking. Would you two like to spend the night?"

The offer sounds tempting, but they decline. "Actually, we were planning on hanging out at Storky's with Taystee," Nicky lies. She plans to have Red take them there, but then venture towards a bar that she used to sneak into to seek refuge. It's got black leather seats, red walls, bright neon colors from the lights, smoke from people getting high, and young girls either going there to rebel, or they've lost their way and don't want to go home.

"Okay, get your shoes on, and then we'll go."

As they're all about to leave, someone knocks on Red's door. The doorbell rings shortly afterwards. "Who is it?" Red asks.

"Gloria and the rest of us!" a Spanish-accented voice sounds from outside.

Red opens the door and smiles at her friends as they walk in. "Hello, ladies!" They hug her and then politely wave at Nicky and Tricia. Nicky recognizes them from the hospital, but she's sure she's seen Gloria with her drug dealing boyfriend a few other times at Vee's, up until last Thursday. The women had verbally fought because Gloria made a yummy cake for Vee, while the Latina got stale cigarettes in return. Nicky sympathized with Gloria, but never dared to express that to Vee. Red sends Nicky and Tricia upstairs because apparently, Gloria had told her that the ladies need to speak in private.

The girls tiptoe downstairs and decide to overhear the women's conversation just out of curiosity. They press their backs against the wall and don't make one peep.

"...gotta decide what to do if he gets out. He'll hunt me down, that's for sure...and what if he finds the kids first...or hurts one of you or your children, or your sister, Franny?" Gloria asks worriedly.

"Oh, I'd dare him to!" Red declares.

"Yeah, I'd beat him with a poker stick!" Aleida chimes in.

"I'd call the cops," Franny says.

"How can we protect our kids?" Diane asks. "Are you sure they can't know about that asshole?"

"Well, Daya is aware of him, and so are Flaca and Maritza...that's probably enough," Gloria answers. "It's personal...we're the adults here, so we gotta make sure nothin' happens! I doubt he knows who my friends and their children are, anyway. Even if he's stalking me, he wouldn't know any of your names-only your faces. Maybe just tell 'em to watch out for a man who says he's Arturo or that he's lookin' for me since he's a danger to everyone?"

Nicky remembers it clearly now. As Gloria and Arturo were leaving Vee's place, he'd been gripping her wrist tightly and berating her in Vee's defense. At first, Nicky had thought nothing of it since she didn't know either of them, but at this point, she realizes that this Arturo guy is, or was, actually abusive to Gloria, but has been put away. She glances over at Tricia warily and they sneak back upstairs.

"Dude..." Tricia starts.

"I know."


Red and Diane glare at Arturo as they sit in front of him. "If you by chance see the outside world again, I'll send the Russian mob after you," Red snarls at him threateningly, baring her teeth in fury. "They really loathe animals like you, who take pleasure in making women and children suffer."

The bastard scoffs. "Don't bother trying to scare me. Two other whores visited me with meaningless words, and some old lady said she'd murder me over the phone!"

"We are all very serious, you dumbass fucker!" Diane growls while balling her hands up into fists on the table. "You hurt your girlfriend and her son. If you touch another hair on their heads again, you will be sorry!"

"Oooh, spooky!" he says tauntingly. The monster stands and leaves them there, seething.

Diane then has to go to her nine-o-clock shift at The Sparrow Tavern. Alex is already there, waiting for her. Franny had already let her in and Alex runs into Diane's arms, her long black hair flowing behind her. "I missed you!"

"So did I, baby," Diane murmurs while hugging her daughter close and kissing the top of her head. "Those assholes bother you and your friends again today?"

Alex nods and then trembles in Diane's embrace. "Humps touched my hair and he and Dixon sexually harassed us."

Diane hisses through gritted teeth, feeling angry that she once again, couldn't keep Alex safe. "I'm so sorry, kid. They do that to me, too. I just wish that we could wipe out every motherfucker who wrongs us!"

"I know. Mom, he's into threesomes...Humps...and I don't want him to hurt any of us..."

"I won't let that happen, sweetie. I'll protect you," Diane promises Alex while cupping her face. They sit down on the seat across from the counter.

"You're not always there when they do that shit, though."

"I'm going to walk you girls into school. I'll make sure they leave you alone."

Alex grins. "Thanks, Mom! You're the best!"

"One more thing I wanted to mention...Gloria's ex, Arturo, is violent, so basically, don't trust anyone with that name, okay? She doesn't want him to find us at all. If he asks about her, we have no idea who she is."

"Got it."


"Hey, Gloria?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever thought of covering your scars with tattoos or something? I was thinking, for the real serious ones that show, you could do that, like a flying bird to symbolize freedom...maybe on the left side of your neck, where there's like a big burn mark. That'd be cool."

Daya has never heard her mother be this deep before. "Great idea," she comments.

"It would be...but I've suffered too much pain already, so the artist would have to numb me."

"I could go with you, if you want," Aleida offers.

"I will, too," Daya puts in.

"Thank you. I think Tuesday after school works fine," Gloria replies.

"Hey, I need to do a class assignment at the Sparrow Tavern with Lorna and Flaca," Daya announces. "Diane and Franny are working there and they'd be watching us, so it'll be okay. Could I have my phone back, just to send you what we're up to every thirty minutes or so, and text you when I want to get picked up?"

"What you doin' for it?" Aleida wonders out loud.

"We're snapping photos of homeless people who might hang around there, and also, we'll ask someone to take one of us, like leaning against a brick wall, as if we were down on our luck. It's for Yearbook and Journalism."

"That sounds interesting," Gloria comments. "Okay, I'll get it."

"Thank you!"

Gloria takes Daya there. Franny and Diane work at the bar and they'd gotten the girls fake IDs so they can just go to talk and hang out. They only go if Diane or Franny is there, but the women don't listen in on the girls-they just make sure no one will bother them and that the girls don't drink. Once in a while, though, they're allowed to have something if Alex's mom and Lorna's sister are watching them extremely carefully.

"Hey girl, hey!" Flaca greets Daya. "I feel cool just chillin' here and listenin' to some really good music!"

"Same!" The girls hug each other and then their other friends.

"Should we do ourselves first or random people around here?" Lorna asks.

"Maybe us," Daya answers while erasing her messages from P and John.

"I haven't seen you with your phone all day," Alex tells Daya.

"Oh yeah, my mom and Gloria took it from me for getting high last night! How were you and Maritza not busted, Flaca?"

"That sucks! Her mom was away and I slept over there since she doesn't like to be home alone because of the whole Humps thing."

"Aw, lucky! I was actually thinking Gloria would be in bed by the time I got to my apartment and Aleida wouldn't care, but nope! They only returned it tonight so they could keep track of me. The most annoying part is, I can't even be mad at them for grounding me because Gloria's helping us and Aleida has finally done something decent. She's learning."

"Well, good!" Lorna says.

"My mom encouraged Gloria to get a tattoo to conceal her injuries that won't go away," Daya lets them know. "We're going to the parlor tomorrow."

"That's neat!" Flaca gushes. "I can't wait to see it!"

"I've always wanted to get inked, like a rose on my shoulder and a salt shaker on my back, like throwing salt over my shoulder for good luck," Alex murmurs wistfully.

"I'd love a red unfilled heart somewhere," Lorna chimes in.

"Those would be pretty," Daya compliments them.

Alex takes pictures of Daya, Flaca, and Lorna with their arms slung around one another under a bright pink and blue sign and then near a purple LED light so it glows on their faces. Then, they lean against the wall with their arms crossed and they glare at the camera. They sit on the couch, with Flaca in the middle, Daya resting her head on Flaca's shoulder, and Lorna's legs stretched out across her friends' thighs. They go outside and do the same poses, but while sprawled out on pavement and brick.

The girls' phones pinging interrupts their photo shoot. "It's a video from P," Flaca mutters.

"Yeah...of what?" Alex wonders out loud. They each open it and watch Lorna take a seat next to Piper on some bench. The brunette twirls Piper's hair but then yanks a fistful of it and the girls jump when Lorna punches her squarely in the face, knocking her out for a minute. Daya is shocked and she wants to giggle, Flaca's mouth hangs open, and Alex points at Lorna with fire in her eyes, her nostrils flared, and her jaw set. "You...you did that to her?"

"Yeah, I flipped out on her ass," Lorna confesses casually. "Don't be mad or nothin'..."

"Why? She was our best friend!" Alex snaps.

"She hit on Vinnie, and friends don't do that to each other," Lorna explains.

"How did you not get yourself kicked out of our group?" Flaca wants to know.

"I've always wanted to do that," Daya mumbles after getting over her astonishment.

Lorna grins widely and chuckles. "She was too afraid to dump me! You're all pussies, grow a backbone!"

"Yo, I tried, but she shunned me, and I had to grovel at her feet so she'd take me back!" Flaca retorts. "It even took Gloria yelling at her!"

"I wasn't good at defending myself against her," Daya adds.

"Do you know how bad this makes you look?" Alex asks. "P has incriminating evidence of you hurting Piper and you could be interrogated!"

"I didn't kill her, so get that thought out of your head right now! Even if they call me in for questioning and tear my room apart, they won't find shit."

"You lied to us this whole time about Christopher...how do we know that we're not helping you cover up a murder?" Alex inquires.

"Whoa, stop!" Flaca shouts, jumping to her feet. "Lorna would never do that. I wouldn't put it past Blanca or Ouija to end Piper, though."

"Oh my fucking god!" Lorna shrieks. "You think I'm a suspect!"

The screaming causes Diane and Franny to start coming their way.

"No, no, it was just a little squabble," Daya tries to assure them. She gives Alex a look. "Calm down," she hisses at the taller girl.

"What's wrong with you girls?" Franny demands. "Accusin' my baby sister of murder?"

"No!" they say at the same time.

"Okay, well what the fuck's all this arguing about?" Diane puts her hands on her hips. "We usually kick people like this out!"

"Lorna was in a fight with Piper and Alex blew up at her for it. We're doing our best to smooth things over," Daya tells Alex's mother.

"When did this happen, like a year ago? Jesus, all the drama with this girl..." Franny mutters. "You four shouldn't be talking about the bad times you had with her, anyway. Just discuss fond memories or somethin'."

"I know you loved her, Al, but not everyone did and she's gone. You can't go around blamin' every damn person in the world for what happened to her-especially your friends!" Diane scolds Alex gently. "Now you work this out. No more yelling, please!"

"We apologize," Alex responds sheepishly. "You can go back to being bartenders."

Lorna's eyes water and she sniffles. "You gotta believe that I...I never...she wouldn't stop hittin' on my boyfriend, and I told her to quit...she thought I was playin', and I hit her...I didn't mean to make her pass out...I just...sometimes people really make me freak out, and I..." She clenches her teeth and whimpers while shaking her head. "I hate it! I'm so sorry...I really am..."

"Okay, well, you gotta find ways to control your anger." Flaca rubs Lorna's back soothingly.

"Maybe take classes...and you weren't on any antidepressants at that time, so of course your emotions would be haywire," Daya puts in.

"Again with the pills! I don't need them," Lorna says simply. "Where's Maritza, by the way? Just curious!"

"Maria set her up with her cousin, Alonso," Flaca responds. "He helped 'em in destroyin' Humps' car, so yeah. Ignoring your problems won't make 'em go away. Could you let us-"

"It's not your business! We should continue our little project and look for some homeless youth or somethin'." Lorna wipes her eyes. "Come on."

The girls sigh and follow her to where they see Nicky and Tricia, surprisingly. "I thought you were living somewhere!" Alex points out.

"We are, but we wanna relax here and your mom allowed us in," Nicky tells her.

"Okay, well, we're doing a school thing and takin' pics of those without shelter...so would you head outside and be our models...please?" Daya wants to know.

"Sure, sounds cool," Tricia replies.

"We look raggedy enough to pass, I suppose," Nicky says, and Lorna giggles.

They exit the building and point their cameras at the blondes. Nicky hooks her thumbs through the loops on her sweatpants and slouches against the brick wall with her hair hiding part of her face. Tricia curls up next to her and closes her eyes.

"Nice, we'll call this one waiting for cash while my sister sleeps!" Lorna announces. "Now switch positions. Lay on the ground, Nichols."

Nicky salutes her with a smirk. "Yes, ma'am."


"You did a beautiful job," Gloria praises Aleida while examining her manicure. "Pink French tips and everything...thank you."

"I've been painting my own nails for years. It's not that big of a deal." Aleida blows on Gloria's nails. "You gotta be still for fifteen minutes so you don't mess 'em up. If you got an itch, I'll scratch it for ya."

"You should run a salon!" Gloria encourages her. "Of course, you would need your GED and then beauty school for your cosmetology license, but-"

"I got a job anyway and it pays ten bucks per hour. I don't even know how to write a resume. What the fuck's a GED anyway? Gloria, nah, I'm too stupid!" Aleida dismisses it with a wave of her hand.

"No, you ain't! You have a passion for painting nails, mama. Not only do you love it, you real talented at it, too. I could go to any professional, but why bother when I got you right here? A GED is like tests you take, and when you pass, they count that as completing high school."

"Forget it, I'll fail miserably."

"Don't have that attitude! Have you ever thought about it, owning a nail salon?"

Aleida slumps in her seat. "I never noticed I was that good. You the first to say somethin'."

"That's 'cause you got low self esteem. Have you done anyone else's nails before?"

"My friends and my favorite cousin were selfish drug addicts and my mom was just...such a bitch." Aleida shakes her head, wishing she had Gloria in her life about twenty years ago. "Runnin' my own place does sound great! I'll look up how much professional manicurists make!" She dashes to the family laptop and goes to Google.

"I'll help you study for your GED...and you gotta take classes for that, too."

Aleida groans as she clicks on a link that leads to information on what she could earn if she reaches her goal. Even though she's thankful for Gloria, she despises the thought of re-learning academics. Trigonometry was her worst subject. "I hate you."

"Love you too," Gloria says, beaming.

"Entry level's sixteen thousand, seven hundred yearly, or eight dollars and three cents per hour. An average manicurist's annual salary is nineteen thousand, three hundred and forty, and nine dollars and thirty cents hourly. Since I'm experienced, though, it'd be thirty thousand, three hundred and thirty a year and fourteen dollars, fifty-eight cents an hour!" Aleida informs Gloria excitedly. "Let's see about construction foremen...that's what Leon is." She researches his job and whistles slowly while reading about it. "Okay, half of 'em get a higher income than I'd have...forty six thousand eighty to seventy five thousand, four hundred ninety! Wow!"

"I know! Now, we gotta enroll you into The Bronx Adult Learning Center. I'd drop you off there after our preschoolers and pick you up on my way to my store and we'd work there together!"

"You're just too happy about this!"

"It's perfect, Aleida, you gonna succeed!" Gloria squeals.

"How will I afford dumb school?"

"It's free. When do you wanna start?"

"Well, you ain't gonna stop buggin' me til I do, so tomorrow." Aleida rolls her eyes. "Can't believe I'm doin' this...should I tell Leon? What about Cesar?"

"If you want, yeah. I thought you were endin' it with Cesar?"

"Nah...see, we love each other and all, but we're also dating other people. It's not a commitment."

Gloria raises her eyebrow. "You sure acted like it was when you found out Cesar was cheating on you."

"I did it right back to him! Revenge sure is sweet."

"Does Leon know this? Is he a pawn in your little game?"

"I'll tell him soon. I'm not playin' him...okay I kind of am, but I like him just as much as Cesar, so it ain't like I'm just stringin' along some random dude. He's somethin' to me. I gotta see who I love the most in the next few months or so. I'd be heartbroken if I lost them both."

"It's okay if you can't decide right now since you and Leon have only been dating for a couple of days, while you've gone out with Cesar for what?"

"Three years. He's Emiliano's father."

"That's a long time, but infidelity, heroin abuse, and a child's worst nightmare would make all that go away, for me, at least. Now, it wouldn't be so bad if he hadn't supported your addiction and just did a little drugs on his own or somethin', but the other shit...ain't worth havin' a man like that."

"We gonna fix things."

"How can you undo the kids' trauma? I doubt they wanna see him again."

"They'll hardly remember what he's done ten years from now! Daya might, but she bounces back quickly."

"I do too, but all that doesn't matta. She's still a child!"

An hour later, Gloria picks up Daya from the bar and Aleida takes her phone. They all put the kids to bed and Daya flips through a comic book before drifting off. She has a nightmare around midnight, screaming about being raped. Aleida and Gloria both hold her through her sobs of "Gloria, Mommy, help me..." and quiet sniffling when she starts to relax in their arms.

"Okay, shhh...don't ruin that pretty face with tears..." Aleida murmurs.

"You okay now, nena?" Gloria asks while kissing her cheek.

"Yeah..."

"Good, now no one's gonna hurt you, so have sweet dreams from now on," Aleida says gently. Daya snuggles back under the covers and closes her eyes, much to the women's delight.

A banging on the front door startles everyone awake and the children begin crying. Aleida pushes herself out of bed with a sigh. She has no idea who it could be.

"Get the door!" a rough male voice commands.

"Alright, alright, it's fuckin' one in the morning, whaddya want?" She opens the door to reveal an angry Duardo Velasquez, Cesar's cousin. Behind her, Daya is assuring Gloria that it's not Arturo through a yawn. The kids bury themselves in Daya and Gloria's nightgowns.

"Which one of you got him arrested?" he snarls. "I bet it was you!" He points a crooked finger at Gloria, who backs away in fear. The little children look equally terrified, and Daya and Gloria take them back to their bedroom.

"Dios mío, none of us, it was a random drug bust!" Aleida insists. "Don't bother us no more with this bullshit! We gotta get our beauty sleep."

"Why she so scared, then?"

"I would be too, if some stranger was hollerin' at me when I'd continuously been treated as a punching bag by my ex! Now you gotta go."

"If I find out you lyin'..."

"You supposed to trust me."

"Okay then. I'll back off. Good night."

"Bye."


The girls would sleep over at each other's places if it all got to be too much. Usually, they'd crash at Alex's since she's an only child and Diane is an awesome mom who cares about them. If she's working, they'd go to one of the other girls' houses except Lorna's because it's too crowded. Sometimes, they'd camp out at the restaurant or the bar after hours or at Red's or Gloria's. Tonight, they choose Maritza's expansive guesthouse and invite Nicky and Tricia to their slumber party. They lay out sleeping bags and pillows and then snack on Dunkin' Donuts with Oreos and vanilla ice cream while Maritza's favorite movie Stepmom plays on the plasma screen.

"I wish it was Friday or Saturday night or we could skip school and stay up all night, especially since my mom is away!" Maritza exclaims.

"Let's just do it, then," Flaca says. "I don't see the point of going to school if I'm just gettin' Cs and bein' felt up every mornin'."

"Yeah," Lorna agrees.

"I'd love to as well, but we really shouldn't. My mom said she'd prevent them from touching us," Alex lets her friends know.

"You need to go to school tomorrow! It's my first day!" Nicky announces. "Red made arrangements and she's taking us...me and Tricia, at least."

"If I have to attend Marie Curie Middle, you four should suffer through Martin Van Buren High with Nicky!" Tricia adds.

"Fine, whatever," Flaca grumbles.

"You might finally understand why we don't want to, Nichols," Lorna mumbles.

"Who do you mean by them?" Nicky wonders out loud.

"We'll give you a rundown of the school tomorrow. Most of the male teachers are assholes, but the women are all nice and pretty hot except my mom, I wouldn't say that about her," Alex responds, and the girls laugh a bit. "She's really sweet and pretty though, but don't hit on her since it would be awkward! I guess we should set our alarms for six, then..."

"Okay, but we'll go to sleep after the movie," Maritza says.


"Red got us new clothes for today, and then she's gonna take us shopping after school," Nicky lets her friends know on Tuesday morning. "How do you like my outfit?" She spins around proudly in her tight blue skirt, tall black boots, and white blouse, letting her bushy hair swing over one shoulder. The girls trail after Diane and luckily, had only gotten searched by Ms. Fischer, who Nicky thinks is sexy.

"I love it!" Lorna squeals.

"It's so cute!" Flaca joins in.

"Yeah," the others agree.

"Thanks! I'll read my schedule and teachers, so you tell me which ones you're in!"

"Okay," Alex says.

"Physical Ed, Piscatella."

"Oh, god, he's awful, but you'll see me and Alex there," Maritza answers.

"English, Berlin."

"I'm in it too, and the teacher is super cool!" Alex tells her.

"Geometry, Dixon."

"He really sucks...we have him together for third period," Daya lets Nicky know.

"Woodshop, Luscheck."

"We're in the same class! He's kind of a couch potato alcoholic loser who puts his foot in his mouth, but he doesn't physically hurt anyone," Flaca informs her.

"Art, Fischer."

"You'll see all of us except Maritza," Lorna says. "You'll really like Ms. Fischer!"

"French...and a name I can't pronounce."

"Poussey takes that, but we don't," Flaca states.

"History, Rikerson."

"He's not too bad," Alex murmurs.

"Biology, Humphrey."

"Ugh!" the girls and Diane scream in unison and Maritza adds, "Gag me!"

"Hey, Nichols, you and I gotta be prepared to throw up when we're in his class together," Lorna mumbles. She feels slightly better that Nicky will be there, too.

Nicky scoffs. "These men who you say are like demons...I can handle 'em. I've lived on the streets for three years! This is ridiculous."

"We're all triggered by them," Daya confirms.

"Piscatella, Dixon, and Humps are fuckin' monsters, honey," Diane mutters. "Take everyone's word for it. I'll see you girls later!"

"Fine..." Nicky grumbles.

"Okay, later, Mom!" Alex hugs Diane goodbye and the others follow suit.

"Hey, I got a text," Lorna says, following her friends as they walk in the opposite direction of Diane. They read it with her and gasp.

Hey bitch stop talkin shit i know what u said about me don't think I'm done if i see you it's bad -Angela

"How did she-how did she get my number?" Lorna asks nervously.

"Oh god, she's gonna kill us! She's gonna kill-" Maritza flips out but then Lorna claps a hand over her mouth.

"Calm down! She's not even here, and we can always report this to the principal. I can take that whore!"


After killing ten minutes at the library, Tricia walks with confidence to her own classroom at promptly eight-fifty, and twists the door handle. She slips inside and sits in one of the empty seats. The whole room goes quiet when they notice her entrance. She looks around nervously.

Everyone just seems so much…better off than she is. She tucks some blonde dreadlocks behind her ears. The boys and girls are still staring at her, and she gives some of them the evil eye.

"This is Tricia Miller," the teacher announces. "I'm Mrs. Valduto. Welcome to our class, Tricia."

Tricia nodded. "Hey."

A brown haired girl turns to her and offers a hand for her to shake. "I'm Mercy Valduto. It's very nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you're just being friendly to me because the teacher's your mom."

"No, I'm being kind because I try to see the good in everyone," Mercy says simply. "I can see that you're a cool girl."

"Hm. Thanks." The girls shake hands.

A girl on Tricia's other side smiles at them. "Hey, I'm Allie. I think we should be the three musketeers or something, hey?"

"Yo, 'sup? Why am I so popular all of a sudden?" Tricia asked.

"You're new. Everyone likes fresh meat," a girl behind them pipes up.

"That's Neri Feldman…the gossip queen," Allie reports to Tricia.

"All right ladies, enough talking," Ms. Valduto gently reprimands them. She passes out a book called Bridge to Terabithia to each of the students. "We're going to read this book aloud."

Tricia's favorite subject is English, so far, since she likes the book and two girls in the class.


"How'd you get let in here, you filthy dishrag?" Piscatella barks.

"I passed the Breathlyzer test," Nicky replies bravely. She flinches when he steps closer to her.

"Don't be smart with me! You're supposed to be in a cell as rotten as yourself."

Nicky scowls at the fact that Maritza now also knows she'd been arrested. "Red bailed me out."

"I hate that cunt. Take laps around the gym until you can't breathe, and I'll know if you're faking. Then, we're playing dodgeball."

"Yes, s-"

"Now!" Piscatella thunders at her while pushing her away, and Maritza shrieks when he thumps Nicky's head so hard that her ears start ringing.

"Jesus..." She begins to run.

"Thought you were tougher than that," Alex whispers.

"Shut up!" Nicky hisses.


Angela is actually back today, and boy, is she pissed. Lorna tries to hide in a bathroom stall since she's alone on her way to homeroom, but Angela kicks open the door and hollers, "You wanna get cut, bitch?!"

"What the hell did I do?" she asks innocently.

"Christopher called me and asked why I was with Joey and he said he never thought I didn't put out. We figured it out that it was you who made the fucking Facebook page, and now, you are gonna pay!"

Angela's not kidding. She has Lorna by the arms and she's holding her so tight that she's losing blood circulation. Lorna kicks her in her crotch and pushes her away. Then, her fist connects with Angela's stomach and she runs out.

Lorna passes Christopher and says hi with a warm smile, but he just ignores her. She doesn't know what his deal is, but she'll get him next time. She can't believe that they're smarter than she'd thought.

"We told you it wouldn't work, Lorna," Daya mutters, shaking her head after Lorna tells her friend the story.

"It was worth a shot. I punched Angela." Lorna shrugs. They're walking past her locker, when she gasps. "Holy shit! What the hell did she do?"

Her locker has the word slut written in red graffiti letters. "So that's her revenge. She'll probably be suspended. What an idiot!"

"Lorna! Lorna! Christopher told me-he said-he wasn't-going…to…your…sweet sixteen...party…that you...told him...about..." Flaca says to her breathlessly. She'd been running at top speed from across campus just to tell her this disappointing news?

"What?! Why?!" Lorna shouts.

"He's mad at you for doing the stupid Facebook thing. I knew it would backfire!"

"Doesn't he understand 'forgive and forget'? Tell him I'm sorry."

"I did, he won't listen because he's stupid!"


English is next, and Alex and Nicky crowd around Maritza as they walk her to Geometry. When they get into their own class, Alex introduces Nicky to Ms. Berlin. The older lady has her red hair in a low pony and says that everyone can call her Freida if they want to. She has them read Macbeth and jokes around with Alex and a few other students in the class who love her dry humor, Nicky included.

Geometry's a drag and having Mr. Dixon for a teacher doesn't make things better. He refers to Daya as a spic and comments on the size of the girls' breasts and butts. He's a real dick, but Nicky is unfazed because he seems just like Pornstache, only more racist. He grades them on how attractive they are, rather than their intelligence. Daya gets an A plus while Nicky receives a B.

"I had to dock a few points because of that ugly hair. The rest of you is sexy, though."

Nicky's middle finger prepares to rise up from her fist, but Daya kicks her chair. The look on her face spells out that it's a very bad idea to entice him.

Woodshop is fun. Nicky joins Flaca at her table and Mr. Luscheck instructs them to build a lamp while he finishes off a beer. He and Nicky banter back and forth about doing heroin and whip-its and his laziness. She thinks she's found another favorite instructor in him. She and Flaca head to their art class together.

Art is with most of her friends except Maritza. She's happy to doodle for the whole period while chatting with the girls, including Poussey. Ms. Fischer not only has a heart of gold, but she's also a perfect ten and allows creative art-from drawing to creating clay pots, which means the only instructions for Nicky and her fellow pupils are to do their best and participate. When Nicky hits on her, she says firmly, "Let's have a good start in high school by not flirting with me." She walks away from the girls' table and they snicker.


When lunchtime finally rolls around, Tricia gets out of her classroom and buys a five dollar lunch for herself from the cafeteria. She grins when she sees a table where Mercy, Allie, Neri, one other girl, and a bunch of boys are sitting. She plops down between Mercy and Allie.

"So, this is Grace Warren, her boyfriend, Brad, Marco and Pedro Gonzales, and saving the best for last, Cal Chapman." Neri introduces the kids to Tricia. "We're accepting of everyone, but as for Mikey Morello, he thinks he can touch girls without their permission!"

"Hey, fellow blondie," Grace says. She waves at Tricia.

The guys give her head-nods. Mikey does appear as though he's full of himself and the Mexican brothers are awfully quiet. Cal is the only one to shake hands with her. At least nobody is gawking at her like a piece of meat. It doesn't mean she wants a boyfriend anytime soon, though.

"It's so lovely to meet you," Mikey says haughtily while reaching for where he thinks her bra strap is, but she smacks his hand away.

Grace cuts up her homemade sandwich perfectly with her nice little manicured nails and the diamond bracelet sparkles on her wrist, and Tricia can't stop herself from feeling just a little bit envious.

"What's up, guys?" She means it as a statement, not a question. She chugs her milk and shoves a piece of pasta in her mouth. It's warm, and she's enjoying her food. Some girls pass them, looking on with disgust, while the others continue eating. Tricia smirks to herself. "Yo, this is good, right?"

"You've got a little..." Mercy hands her a napkin. "Sauce, on your chin."

"Oh," Tricia mutters nonchalantly and wipes her face. "Thanks."

"So, like, I've got a girls' night planned and we're all going in my mom's new sports car," Neri brags.

"Good, save it for someone who cares," Tricia mumbles, and the group chuckles, except Mikey. She whispers in Allie's ear, "Did I just bust up their egos?"

"I think you did, but that's okay. They need that sometimes."

"Dude, I was kidding!" Neri exclaims. "Awesome comeback, though!"

"Hey, you're really sassy," Mercy points out.

"I just speak the truth for those who can't say it themselves."

"Aren't you afraid of getting in trouble?" Grace asks.

"Not really."

"Where did you come from?" Cal wants to know.

"I came from New York City...with my older sister."

"How interesting!" Grace squeals. "I have a big sister, too. What about your parents?"

"My dad died before we were born, and my mom stopped breathing after the final push...you know, giving birth to me," Tricia lies. They're better off dead, anyway.

"Oh, I see. That's too bad."

"Eh, I didn't really know them, so..."

"You should totally check out all the shops here," Allie recommends.

"Yeah, I think I will..."

"Why'd you come here?" Brad presses.

"I can't say. It's personal...complicated. We just wanted a new start," Tricia says coldly.

Mercy must sense that Tricia's feeling uncomfortable, because she changes the subject. "Hey, I'm not the only one with a mom who works as a teacher...Alex Vause's mom is a high school teacher. She used to go here two years ago."

"Oh, Alex is friends with my sister!" Tricia points out. "Yeah, she's nice."

Her classmates laugh and chatter away. Tricia feels uneasy around the snooty, perverted boy and the straight couple making out, but she finds comfort in talking to the others, so she does.

"Is Cal always this loud?" she asks Neri. To be honest, his voice scares her. He's also towering over everyone and casting a shadow on the table.

"Yeah, he's fun and cool, though."

"I see."

Thank you for reading and reviewing, HannahMileyfan1, Celestial-Vapidity, thecharmedwerewolf, A Star In My Universe, and LindaAndrewsfan! Y'all helped me get to a hundred reviews, so I'm happy about that!